Slow drives and hard-to-find parking are in the forecast for hundreds of thousands of Who Dats planning to swarm the Central Business District to celebrate the kickoff of the Saints' first-ever football season as defending Super Bowl champions. Who Dats without game tickets may have an opportunity to catch both the parade and the concert, but team brass this week advised game-ticket holders to concentrate mostly on getting to their seats in the Louisiana Superdome, where their reward will be to witness the unveiling of a trio of championship banners.

"It's going to be a cool spectacle," said Barry Kern, president and CEO of Blaine Kern Studios, which partnered with the National Football League to produce a Mardi Gras-style parade rolling through the French Quarter two-and-a-half hours before kickoff.

But, he warned, "Get out there early."

The parade and concert are the main entertainment centerpieces of "NFL Opening Kickoff 2010 Presented by EA Sports." Both will be televised by the NFL Network starting at 6:30 p.m., and by NBC starting at 7 p.m.

The "Krewe of NFL Kickoff" parade should start at 5 p.m. It will follow a modified version of Kern's Krewe of Halloween parade route: staging on Elysian Fields Avenue and starting at Esplanade Avenue and the river, heading on North Peters to Decatur streets, past St. Louis Cathedral, back to North Peters, across Canal and Poydras streets to Tchoupitoulas Street, where it will disband.

The parade's vanguard is scheduled to reach the intersection of North Peters and Dumaine streets at 5:40 p.m., said officer Janssen Valencia, a New Orleans Police Department spokesman. It should pass Jackson Square and Decatur Street at 7 p.m. and disband at Tchoupitoulas and Julia streets at 8 p.m., a half-hour after kickoff against the Minnesota Vikings.

Local musicians, NFL players on the floats

New Orleans music acts such as the Rebirth and Soul Rebels brass bands perform aboard the seven floats, four of which are sponsored by EA Sports, VISA, Pepsi Max and Snickers, Kern said Wednesday.

The floats will also feature famous former NFL players. Though officials have not named precisely who will be in the parade, various events around town have booked appearances from Marcus Allen, Jerome Bettis, Floyd Little and Thurman Thomas, as well as former Saints favorites Morten Andersen, Joe Horn, Michael Lewis, Dalton Hilliard, Pat Swilling and Willie Roaf. It is expected that at least some of them will ride.

Marching bands from Tulane University, McDonogh 35 High School, Warren Easton Charter High School, Eleanor McMain Secondary School, West Jefferson High School and Sophie B. Wright Charter Middle School will blare out numbers in between the floats.

As the floats near Jackson Square, they will pause for live performances by Swift and Matthews, who will mount a stage erected in front of the steps of Washington Artillery Park, facing the cathedral.

The concert is free to the public, and revelers who venture to Jackson Square should be able to view it from numerous spots, with the help of giant television screens.

Only fans with passes will be able to access official viewing areas between the stage and the cathedral. People who have registered at the website www.1iota.com have a chance at securing those passes.

Jackson Square by Wednesday appeared to have transformed into an under-construction concert area at a children's theme park. People and cars moved under the shadows of outsized LED monitors, colorful signs reading "NFL Kickoff," and the black skeletal scaffolding supporting them. Barricades blocked the sidewalks pedestrians usually employ.

"I can't walk around how I usually walk around," said trombonist Robert Harris, sitting on a chair during a break from playing his instrument for tips outside of Café du Monde. "But all this is great for New Orleans. It means the Saints won the Super Bowl."

Go to the game or go to parade, concert

Kern, the NFL and Saints team officials stressed that the pregame concert and parade were not designed with ticket holders in mind. Fans run the risk of not getting to their Superdome seats in time for championship-banner ceremonies preceding the showdown with the Vikings if they also go to the parade and concert.

Car and pedestrian traffic will be heavy, and traveling times in the French Quarter and Central Business District will be slow, the team warned.

According to the NFL, Decatur Street will be closed from noon Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday. There will be no parking on or near Decatur until Friday. Officers will not allow traffic on Wilkinson Street during that time frame, either. There will be no parking in the French Market Parking Lot from St. Peter Street to its exit, and it will not fully reopen until Saturday.

Furthermore, officials will not allow fans to park in Superdome Lot No. 3.

The NFL has little sympathy for game-goers who can't check out the parade or concert because of the tight scheduling. NFL Vice President of Events Frank Supovitz said in August that the goal was to create a celebration for all of New Orleans, not just the 70,000-plus people "lucky enough to have tickets to the game."

However, as consolation for Who Dats planning to cheer for the Vikings' demise in person, officials plan to launch a slew of activities at Champions Square at 3 p.m.

From 3 to 4:30 p.m., fans can gather around the plaza's giant 18-by-32 video screen to view highlights of the Super Bowl season and a special airing of the NFL Films feature "America's Game: 2009 New Orleans Saints." At 4:30 p.m., Saints owner Tom Benson greets and welcomes fans while he totes the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The Bucktown All-Stars then will jam from 4:40 to 6:30 p.m.

Lastly, inside the Superdome some time between 6:30 p.m. and kickoff, officials will unveil the division, conference and Super Bowl championship banners the Saints won last season.

Ernest Howard, 73, who has been going to Saints games since the inaugural year of 1967, vowed to heed the team's advice and march straight to his seats in Superdome Section 121.

"I've waited 43 years to see that (Super Bowl) banner," Howard said. "It's going to be beautiful."